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AOL relaunches AOL TV with help from i.TV

AOL on Thursday announced it is relaunching its AOL TV television site by teaming up with i.TV and integrating content from now-closed TV Squad. The revamped site went live this morning.

The new site is designed to be a TV fan’s companion and features interactive TV listings that offer social check-ins, DVR programming, calendar views, and personalized channel lists. There is also news, video recaps, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content.

The re-launch also highlights AOL TV’s mobile apps for the iPhone and iPad. The apps were developed by TV services startup i.TV. “We are thrilled to welcome AOL TV to the i.TV platform,” said Brad Pelo, i.TV CEO, in a statement. “Both companies bring unique and powerful capabilities to this partnership, which will revolutionize how millions of TV viewers discover, share, and watch television.”

With the re-launch, AOL took down great television site TV Squad and integrated some of its staff and content into AOL TV. AOL has operated TV Squad since 2005, when it acquired Weblogs, Inc. and its roster of sites like TV Squad, Engadget, and TUAW. Users that go to the URL www.tvsquad.com are now automatically redirected www.aoltv.com.

With AOL’s recent purchase of The Huffington Post and its commitment to turning itself into a media platform, creating AOL TV makes sense if it wants to ramp up its coverage. But at this point, I do wonder if this sort of content isn’t already incredibly played out by other sites like ew.com and televisionwithoutpity.com. Time will tell if a new TV site can still attract viewers in an extremely crowded environment.